The UK is already the second largest economy in Europe after Germany. All this fuss about a piddler like Greece...if we pull out of the EU, that will be major news...could destroy Europe....we are huge net contributors to the EU budget.
I have a solution for the Greek people. Let an international banking goliath like HSBC immediately set up a banking network in the country. Businesses will be encouraged to deposit money and also to obtain small lines of credit for running their businesses. Currency will be euros. The bank will operate strictly under a special license given by the Greek govt with no supervision or interference from the ECB. The whole purpose being to unfreeze the Greek economy.
It could work, except HSBC has been operating in Greece since 1981 http://www.about.hsbc.gr/hsbc-in-greece It's actually one of the locations the HSBC folks in HK offered me to open a Europe based account. A shame I passed...
That doesn't matter. The Greeks just need a banking organisation with the know how and the financial strength to set up an independent bank in Greece, independent of any existing banking concerns that it might already have.
it's a moot point. Greece is broke, just like Germany was broke. You can either make them pay for their sins or help them get back on their feet and join the world economy.
If they don't do something like this, they will be heading towards a cash economy (actually they are already there since all their existing banks are closed) and then a barter economy which will plunge them further into economic chaos.
the idea is to win. And a Greece with low taxes and a corrupt free government would be a victory for the world